Now More Than Ever
by KindaSimone
Summary: Harry's life is rocked yet again by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Harry realizes Firendship and love are more important now than ever before, during the final battle. Rated R for S L V...mostly in later chapters
1. Default Chapter

**_Obviously I don't own anything Harry Potter!_**

**NOW MORE THAN EVER**

_CH. 1_

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It was two in the morning when Harry awoke with a start to the sound of breaking glass. Trying to ignore the prickling in his forehead, he hopped out of bed and immediately found the source of the noise. Hedwig lay in a heap on the ground her wings oddly bent. Flecks of red were spreading rapidly through her snowy white feathers.

"Hedwig!" he bent down, picked her up from the ground and placed her carefully on his bed. He noticed the blood on his fingertips as Hedwig hooted mournfully in front of him.

"What happened?" Harry gasped to his friend. He noticed the scratches on her legs, and a couple of broken talons. "You were intercepted weren't you?"

Immediately, panicked thoughts were running through his mind. What had he written in that last letter. He wouldn't be stupid enough to mention the Order...would he?

"Damnit!" Harry said sinking his head to his hands. "I don't know how to help you Hedwig. The Dursleys don't know anything about animals, and I'm not allowed to do magic! Too bad I couldn't just fly to Hagrid." Suddenly Harry figured it out. He had a broom, and he had the invisibility cloak. There was a muggle animal hospital only a few towns over. He could be there in ten minutes.

In an instant, Harry had fetched his Firebolt, and his invisibility cloak. He dashed to his trunk and pulled out a warm squishy sweatshirt which he hastily stuffed into Hedwig's cage (It would be much more comfortable for her than the dropping-strewn cold metal).

"C'mon girl," he said moving her to her cage. "We'll get you some help."

Harry transported everything outside, being careful to not wake the Dursleys. He hooked the handle of Hedwig's cage over his Firebolt and covered them both with the invisibility cloak. The tail of his broom was sticking out, but he figured if he had flown and not been seen with the entire advanced guard last year, then no one would notice just the tail.

"Hold on!" He kicked hard off the ground, and if it had not been such grave circumstances, he would have screamed with the joy of being back in the air.

Within minutes they had arrived in front of a large white building. Out front was a sign that read "Surrey Emergency Care Animal Clinic". Harry stowed his Firebolt and the invisibility cloak in a nearby bush. He dashed to the door with Hedwig who was bleeding freely on his new, well new hand-me-down, sweatshirt.

"Don't worry Hedwig."

There was only two other people in the room: A middle-aged man holding a very agitated snake, and a young receptionist who was standing behind a large circular desk.

"Can I help you?" She looked from Harry to the bleeding owl, and back to Harry.

"It's my owl, I think she's been attacked! Can you help her?"

"I'll go fetch doctor Berkley." The confused receptionist ran off to the nearest office, and came back moments later with a portly man wearing blue scrubs and a white lab coat.

"Take her in here." The man said. The receptionist walked back to her desk, and the man led Harry into an exam room off to the left.

"Can you help her?" Harry repeated.

"Yes she'll be alright. What happened?"

"I don't know. I woke up when she came crashing through my bedroom window." Of course he knew what happened...she was intercepted. But he doubted the vet would beleive him if he said someone tried to keep her from delivering a letter.

"She'll just need stitches from where the glass cut, and we'll wrap her left wing." The doctor explained while carefully removing the shards of glass from Hedwig's side. "What's her name?"

"Hedwig."

"Don't worry Hedwig, you'll be alright. You can go take a seat in the waiting room while I finish her up if you want." He said to Harry.

"Okay." Harry went back and took a seat across from the man with the snake. He realized however that there was even more people in another examining room. A girl was walking out with her arms wrapped around a large ginger cat.

"Hermione!?" Harry gasped.

"Harry!?" She replied. "What are you doing here? Is it Hedwig? Is she okay?"

"Yeah, it's Hedwig." He lowered his voice to a whisper, "I think she was intercepted. And I can't remember what I wrote."

"You wouldn't say anything about the Order though, so it's okay."

"I don't know...I can't remember." He looked around and saw Hermione's mum standing at the counter with the receptionist. "What's wrong with Crookshanks?"

"I woke up and he way lying on my bed whimpering. When I looked at him I noticed cuts all over his side. He must've just gotten in a row with another cat."

"Hermione, I was sending a letter to you. Maybe whoever intercepted the letter caught Hedwig at your house and attacked Crookshanks too." Then suddenly Harry remembered what he had written. His stomach dropped.

"Harry what's wrong?" Hermione asked, concerned.

"I remember what I wrote. Shit, Hermione, I mentioned Grimmauld Place."

"That doesn't mean anything though." Harry knew she was trying to hide her worry.

"I wrote about Lupin and Dumbledore being there too."

"Oh Harry, we need to-"

_CRACK!_

They both whipped around. They new that sound, someone had apparated.

"_Avada Kedavra!_" The words were repeated three times, and were followed by four loud thunks to the ground. "What a pleasant surprise. I knew I'd find _you_ here Potter, but look, you brought your mudblood friend along with you."

Harry grabbed Hermione and pulled her close to him. Crookshanks sped off. He felt Hermione's tears running down his arm. They both had their wands out, pointed at the owner of the voice.

"Put your wands down you stupid kids. You are no match for Lord Voldemort."

_A/N: This is my first fanfic, hope you like it so far! I'll try to update as soon as I can. Please Review!_


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione was trembling in Harry's arms. He held her tighter to him. A faint whimper escaped from her mouth as Voldemort raised his wand again.

"I said put your wands down. _Imperio!_"

Again Harry felt the wonderful sensation of an empty mind. His head seemed to be hollow. He felt Hermione's tense body relax next to him.

"Okay, now put down your wands." Immediately Hermione's wand clattered to the ground, but Harry retained his grip.

"I said, put down your wand!"

"NO!" The spell was broken. Hermione fell to the ground to retrieve her wand, but Voldemort was too quick.

"_Crucio!_" A blood-curtling scream echoed through the hospital, followed by barks and cries from animals in the kennel.

"Leave her alone!" Harry spat. He threw himself towards Voldemort, who jumped out of the way.

"Temper temper Mr. Potter. You should be quite grateful that this is neither the time, nor place that I will kill you. Trust me, it is quite tempting, but I still have my uses for you." Before Harry could react, he was thrown into a nearby chair, and bound tightly to it. Hermione still lay twitching on the ground.

Voldemort drew the tiniest knife out of his robes, and sliced the skin on Harry's left arm in exactly the spot Wormtail had, more than two years earlier.

"I never realized how wonderful your blood was, until I found it running through my own veins." Harry's scar began to sear with pain, as Voldemort placed a long thin finger to the open wound on Harry's arm. Voldemort rubbed the fresh blood around his fingers, then pulled a vile out from his robes, and let Harry's blood drip into it. The thought of his blood running through Voldemort's veins made Harry's stomach churn.

Harry glanced over at the heap that was Hermione curled up on the floor. Underneath her bushy hair, Harry could see how pale her face had become. Voldemort saw Harry glancing. "Don't worry, I won't hurt your mudblood friend...yet. It's nice to have a bit of a challenge, and I know I won't get one from someone as stupid as you. Only a true idiot would reveal the whereabouts of Dumbledore's secret hideout. Never fear Potter, I'll be back for you again."

"And I'll be waiting."

And with one last laugh, Voldemort disapparated.

The bonds holding Harry disappeared, and he ran over to Hermione. She was sitting up now, staring at something a few feet in front of her.

"Harry," She gasped, "My mum." He caught her as she fell into his arms. He looked over at the face that was unmistakably Mrs. Granger. She had the same bushy hair, and large teeth...though Hermione's were significantly smaller now since fourth year. The woman's eyes were wide with shock, and her lips were just barely parted. Harry pulled Hermione into a very tight hug, and kissed her lightly on the top of the head.

"It's okay Hermione." She was sobbing silently on his shoulder. He helped her to her feet, and walked her over to the chair he had been bound to. "Sit down, I'll go find Hedwig and Crookshanks." He walked off past three more bodies: The receptionist, Dr. Berkley, and the man who had the snake, though the snake was nowhere to be seen. In the other room Harry found Crookshanks hiding under an examination table. Hedwig's empty cage was sitting on the table, and Hedwig came hobbling into the room, with her wings wrapped tightly.

"C'mon, let's get out of here." He picked up Hedwig carefully and placed her in her cage. Crookshanks was limping next to him, and they walked out to meet Hermione.

"Do you want to come to the Dursleys' with me? You could call your dad and have him pick you up in the morning. Or do you want me to just fly you home? Where do you live, by the way?"

"About thirty minutes away by car. Little Whinging is closer, I'll just go with you." She had stopped crying, but was very weak. Her whole body seemed to droop, as if she had no desire to be alive.

Harry helped her out the door to where his broom and cloak were hidden. He placed Hedwig's cage on the ground beside him, and pulled his Firebolt and the invisibility cloak out from the bushes.

"Wait, what about Crookshanks? Where can we put him?"

"My mum and I brought him in his basket. It's inside. I'll go get it."

"No, let me." Harry ran inside and fetched the basket, emerging seconds later. He hooked the basket and cage onto his broom, like before, and climbed on. Hermione climbed on behind him. "Forget about the cloak. Being seen is the last thing on my mind. You ready?"

Hermione grabbed around his waist, and Harry kicked off hard from the ground. It had gotten cooler since he had left. Several minutes later, Harry began to descend. The rooftops of Privet Drive came into view. Harry landed in the Dursley's backyard. The two of them climbed off the broom and removed the cage and basket.

"Well, welcome to my hell I guess." Hermione couldn't help but smile.


End file.
